Myraneth Accolte: Dawn of the Alicesaurs
by JennaGreenleaf
Summary: Well, you've seen Alice in Ice Age. You've seen her and Derek in Ice Age 2. Is anyone else curious about what she'll do in Dinotopia? Where will her gift take her? Formerly called Alice 3: Dawn of the Alicesaurs.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was like nothing I've ever known. The pain, the shared pain, brings people together. I stared into the eyes of the beast, willing my family to survive. I waited for death to take me, willing my friends to take care of my babies.

A contraction hit me. The babies were ready, but I wasn't. I was panicked. I wasn't going to survive this—no, I can't think like that. My baby needed me. My herd needed me. I needed to live. For the first time in my life, I prayed to God that I might live to love my daughter and son the way they deserved to be loved.

And Derek. I would survive this for them. The beast wouldn't take my life.

I was in a massive shadow. I had to stay alive.

For my herd.

For my babies.

For my brother.

For my mate.

For my friends.

For my sister.

A fiery passion filled me, and I felt no more pain.


	2. I get scared in confession

I don't own Ice Age!

I only own Alice, Derek, and any OC's you don't recognize.

Chapter 1

Basking in the sunlight, I yawned, barring my sabers. I stood—with some difficulty—and hopped down off the rock I was napping on to where Crash and Eddie, the possum twins, were involved in a tail-whipping contest.

I nipped at them and caught Crash by the tail, "How do you two expect me to rest with all the racket you two are making? You don't make noise like this around Ellie, do you? No, don't answer that. I know you don't."

Just for some background information, it's been about eleven months since our experiences with the flood. I predict we're going to get a prehistoric visit any time now.

My reasoning? Ellie's pregnant. Her Peaches is almost ready.

Ellie and I have formed a comradeship, of sorts. I don't think we hated each other anymore. Or not as much, anyway. Pain has a way of bringing people together. Especially shared pain.

I'm certain you've guest by now.

I'm pregnant, too.

"Sorry, Alice!" The twins chorused. They hopped towards my swollen belly, "Sorry, baby!"

My mate, Derek, came beside me and nuzzled my shoulder, "How's my favorite shape shifter doing?" He murmured.

"I'd be a lot better if I actually could shift! You don't know how lucky you are!" Once I'd realized my situation, I had stopped shifting. Didn't know what it would do to the baby's development, see.

"It's almost over, Lissy," Derek whispered. He'd called me that for the first time when I'd told him and Diego I was pregnant. I liked it.

All of a sudden, Manny ran passed us, carrying what looked like an overturned turtle shell filled with water, "The baby's coming! I'm having a baby!"

Crash and Eddie joined him, "Code Blue! Code Blue!"

"Or Pink! If it's a girl."

"Manny, calm down!" I cried, "The baby's not coming!"

Manny stopped dead, "But Ellie felt—"

"Only a kick. Doesn't mean the babies here. I get them about three times a day!"

Manny took my word for it. He knew I knew everyone's future. I hadn't told him anything about this, though, and he was pretty upset about it. I was, too, but still.

I'd put off telling my herd about my pregnancy for as long as possible. It was only after I'd pulled one of my weeklong solo 'thinking trips' as I liked to call them. Derek hadn't liked it, but he'd held his tongue. When I returned, though, my stomach was visibly rounder and bigger. I couldn't hide it anymore.

Manny had been furious that I hadn't told him sooner. As he and Sid tied into me, I stood my ground. This was our first major argument since becoming friends. Sure, we'd had our disagreements, but nothing this bad. To my surprise, it was Ellie who had ended the fight.

_Flashback~~~~~_

_ "Why didn't I tell you? Why didn't I tell you? You've got enough on your plate without worrying about me, Manny!"_

_ "You can take care of yourself, Alice—"_

_ "Do you really believe that, Manny? I mean, really believe that? I know you. It seems that, even after all this time, you don't know me!"_

_ "Alice—"_

_ "No. Manny, I was scarred! I still am!" Everyone gasped. For me to admit that I was scarred was something unheard of in our herd. With my powers, I could become anything; "This is something bigger than me! Bigger than you!" That was the last time I had shifted. I was going to stay as a saber for the duration of my pregnancy._

_ To my great surprise, Ellie came and stood at my shoulder, "Manny, you know being scarred leads people to do weird things. I doubt Alice has been truly scarred in her life. These kinds of things are natural, but even I'm scarred out of my mind!"_

_End Flashback~~~~~_

That's when my semi-friendship with Ellie had started.

"Let's go meet up with Ellie." I told them, "You have to show her the playground, Manny. It's perfect for your kid."

"Yours too, Alice. I'm not leaving you out." He left, and a few minutes later I herd, "I don't believe it. You're trying to baby-proof nature. Manny this is the world our baby's going to grow up in. You can't change that."

"Yes I can. I'm the biggest thing on Earth."

"Actually, that position's taken by Alice and Derek. Nice try, big Daddy. I can't wait to see how you handle the teen years."

I had to hand it to Ellie. She had Manny wrapped around her little finger. Or little trunk.

Uh-oh. Di's going to leave soon. Not good.

Okay, I'm going to admit something, and someone's probably going to slap me across the face for abandoning my brother in his time of need.

I fell asleep.

Derek left to hunt for me. I think he caught the scene, though.

"You know," He said when he pushed me awake, "I don't get why Diego left."

"He's jealous. He lives with two expecting couples; two possums that hardly care at all about reproduction, and an idiot of a sloth. He's bound to feel like a fifth wheel."

"You're good at this, Alice. You'll do good for our kid."

"I listen, Derek. You do it, too, and that's one of the main reasons why I agreed to be your mate. Why I agreed to carry your baby," Three eggs and a Sid rolled down the hill beside us, "It's starting. Let's go to Dino world!" I muttered. Abandoning my almost-finished lunch, Derek and me trudged down the hill after the rolling omelet.


	3. We get saved by a deranged weasel

Chapter 2

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Sid told Ellie, "Bad egg. Rotten egg. No, no, don't cry. It's just that mommy loves you so much."

"Sid, whatever you're doing, it's a bad idea."

"No. I'd like you to meet Eggbert, Shelly, and Yoko. This is your aunt Ellie, and uncle Manny. And that's your aunt Alice and uncle Derek." Sid said, spotting Derek and I.

"Hi!" Ellie said brightly.

"Alice, talk some sense into him, please." Manny pleaded.

"He was your friend first."

He glared at me and then turned back to Sid, "Sid, you're not cut out to be a parent."

"But why?"

"First sign: stealing someone else's eggs. Second sign: one of them almost became an omelet."

"Someone's probably worried sick about them, Sid" Ellie said.

"No, no, I found them underground. In ice. If it wasn't for me, they'd be _eggsicles._" He winced the last word.

"Hang on, mammals don't even lay eggs." Derek whispered. I nodded.

"Sid, you'll find—"

"Oh, I get it. You and Alice have your family, and I'm better off on my own."

"Sid, no—" I cried.

"Alone. All alone. In the ice. Forever. A lone lonely loner."

"That's a lot of aloneness."

"Precisely!"

"Sid!" Ellie cried.

"Oh, he'll bounce back. It's one of the advantages of being Sid." **(A/N: This is one of my favorite lines in the movie!)**

"Manny—"

"Save it, Alice."

"This is not good." I muttered, but I didn't go after Sid. Secretly, I wanted to go and see the dinosaurs, even with all the mortal peril. I wanted to meet Buck.

I didn't sleep well that night, because of the baby. When I did get to sleep, it was an hour before dawn. Still, a frantic Derek and Manny woke me up at dawn, way before I was ready.

"A Dinosaur just kidnapped Sid!" Manny yelled.

"Oh, Mother Goddess." I rolled onto my stomach and stood up, my eyelids heavy from lack of sleep.

"Alice, you're staying here." Derek told me.

"No way, I'm going with you guys. If Ellie goes, which she does, then so do I." I stalked past Derek before he could say anything.

"Alice, you can hardly stand!" he called after me.

"Talk to the trunk" Ellie was saying. I followed her into the cavern without looking at Manny.

"Never thought that would happen," Derek told Manny. The two were really good friends.

"Great. After we save Sid, I'm going to kill him."

"Nice. I'll help you with the disemboweling part." Derek grabbed the possums and followed us.

"Oh, no, no. Ellie? Ellie, wait up! Okay, look. If you feel anything, even if it's nothing, you need to tell me, and we're out of here. Oh, we need a code word! Something that says, 'the baby's coming'"

"What about 'AH! THE BABY'S COMING?" Ellie smiled, "How's that? She said sweetly as she climbed off the dinosaur skeleton we used as a bridge.

"Nah, too long," Manny searched for the right word, "What about… Peaches?"

"Peaches?"

"Yah, I love peaches. They're sweet and round and covered in fuzz. Just like you."

She balked, "You think I'm round?"

"Uh, round is good. Round is _foxy_."

I couldn't resist laughing as we walked into the light, "Hey, Der, maybe we need a code word too. I personally think 'AH! THE BABY'S COMING' is perfectly fine. What about you?"

"That's easier to remember than 'Peaches.' Remember the fruit cocktail?"

I laughed, and it turned into a cry of utter amazement as I beheld the scene in front of me.

It was unlike anything I'd ever seen, although Derek and I had seen it before. Dinosaurs spread as far as the eye could see.

"Run!" Derek cried, shifting into a mammoth and picking me up around the middle. The rest of the herd was used to these kinds of warnings, and they began to run away.

"DIEGO?" Manny cried, "What are you doing here?" The other saber had appeared out of nowhere.

"Sightseeing! I'm looking for Sid, same as you!"

"Oh, aren't you noble—"

"Not the time, Manny! Running for our lives here! Derek, put me down! I'm fine on my own!"

The Ankylosaurus made its first appearance in my sightline as my paws touched ground.

"Magnificent," I muttered, "Fossils don't do them justice." I kept running. And then stopped, "Ellie! Need your help here!" We were standing on the edge of a large cliff. She joined me, "Tempt that Dino with those ferns!"

"Why--?"

"Ellie! Trust me." A few minutes later, I was riding a dinosaur for the first time ever.

"Pregnant lady wants to live!" Ellie cried.

I took her line by crying, "YABADABADO!" I landed lightly.

Derek, Diego, Manny, Crash, and Eddie piled practically one on top of the other.

"Don't ever yabadabado that again," Manny said somewhat dizzily, "I feel so…puny" he commented, looking around in shock at the surprisingly aggressive herbivores around us.

"How do you think I feel?" Eddie said.

Enter Buck. I looked to the branch and sure enough, the deranged weasel was there, blowing his out-of-tune instrument thingy. He took his vine, yelling all the while. Until it snapped, that is. I heard a distinct, "Ouch!"

The dinosaurs continued to advance and Buck reappeared.

"Take cover!" He cried after pelting dino after dino with the weird bomb-berries. We ran for the hills.


	4. I'm tired of people not listening to me

Chapter 3

"Wow!"

"Dude, you're awesome! You're like the brother I never had!"

"Me, too!"

"Crash, Eddie, you both have a brother."

Buck sniffed the possum twins. He upturned them and held them by their tales.

"Can we keep him?" Buck moved onto Manny. He landed on his face.

"Buck" he barked.

"Wha?"

"The name's Buck. Short for Buckminster. Long for…Bu." Moving to Diego, he felt a saber, "Huh. A little dull."

"See, Di, I told you you should hunt with Derek." I whispered.

He moved to me, "Okay, preggers, how'd you break your tooth?"

"Long story. Tell you later. And my name's Alice, not preggers."

"This one can take care of herself, mate," Buck whispered to Diego, "Now, why are you here?"

"Our friend was taken by a dinosaur."

"Oh, well, he's dead. Welcome to my world. Now go home. Off you pop."

"Ellie, maybe the deranged hermit has a point—"

"Manny, we came this far, we're not giving up on him." The she-mammoth said.

I nudged Manny's kneecap, which was about as far up as I could reach, "Manny, we don't leave friends behind. I don't care how annoying it is that Sid didn't listen to you. We are going to save our friend."

"I know, Alice."

"I got tracks," Diego said. He smiled at us.

Buck hopped down and licked the print, "Mmm, yes, Mommy Dino, carrying three babies, and some floppy green thing." He sounded puzzled.

"Yah, we're friends with the floppy green thing," Manny said.

"You got all that from the track?" Diego asked, growing more jealous by the minute.

"Not really. I saw them pass by here earlier. She's headed to Lava Falls. It's where they care for the newborns. To get there, you have to pass through the jungle of misery," He said this in a way that freaked me out, "Through the chasm of death, to the plates of woe."

"Whoa" the possum twins breathed.

"Okay, good luck with the slow decent into madness. We'll be going now." Manny started to walk.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Y-you think this is some type of tropical getaway? You can't protect your mate, mate. What are you going to do with those flimsy tusks," He wiggled Manny's tusk, "When you run into the beast? I call him…"

"Rudy" I breathed.

Buck's shoulders slumped, "Ah, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess?"

"Oh, I thought it would be something intimidating like Sheldon. Or Tim." Manny said.

"Manny, you've never met Rudy."

"And you have?" he scoffed.

"What, is it all of a sudden nobody-listen-to-Alice day?"

"You mean, there's something bigger than mommy dinosaur?" Crash asked.

"Aye."

"Eye?" Crash pointed to his eye.

"Aye aye. He's the one who gave me this." Buck pointed to his eye patch.

"He gave you that patch?"

"For free?"

"Maybe he'll give us one!" Crash and Eddie started doing their handshake thingy.

Buck starred at them like, 'what in the world are they doing?'

"Welcome to my world." Manny said.

"Abandon all hope, he who enters there!"

"Manny, stop!"

"Alice, I don't want to hear it!"

"This is how you talk to a woman with a hormone imbalance who can normally kick your butt? I don't think so," I told him, "We need to hire a guide. We need to," I turned to Buck, "Will you help us find the floppy green thing? Otherwise Manny and Diego are heading straight for a carnivorous plant."

"I'm thinking."

"Please?" I gave him the face that always worked on Manny and Diego.

"Oh, alright. I like you. You're strong."

"Thank you, Buck." I trotted to Diego and Derek, "One crisis averted."

"But I got rules! Rule number 1: always listen to Buck! Rule number 2: Stay in the middle of the trail! Rule number 3" he drew himself up to his full height and said, "He who has gas, travels at the back of the pack. Onward! To the jungle of misery!" Buck called.

"Oh" Crash hung his head and turned to bring up the rear.

A few minutes later, we heard Scrat's scream.

"Sounds like a jungle of misery to me." Eddie said.

"Stick close to me, boys. And whatever you do, _don't touch the vegetation!_ Especially the fruit. That goes for you too, Manny." He was talking to Ellie about her blood sugar.

"You're hungry! There's some fruit!"

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. This isn't exactly your playground." Di said.

"Yah, as if I'm going to be afraid of a pretty flower."

"Manny, what did I say about not touching the fruit!? Oh, why don't you listen to me anymore?" I turned to Derek, "Der, back me up here!"

"She's right, Manny. And I'd appreciate it if you tried to not cause her any more stress. I wouldn't do that to Ellie."

"Sorry, Derek"

"No harm done. Glad to see you didn't get eaten by a carnivorous plant." Derek shifted from Mammoth back to saber form.

I pushed him, "Show-off" I muttered.

Buck starred at us.

"Oh, sorry, Buck. Derek's my mate. He's a shape shifter, and so am I. But I'm not shifting as of late."

I almost missed Sid's singing, even though every time he did it, I shifted form—somewhat. Once, when Sid went into a particularly off—key version of 'Eye of the Tiger,' I'd ended up with a duckbill and a platypus' tail growing out of my head. Once I told them I was pregnant, Derek had scarred Sid into not singing anymore. I definitely missed Derek's singing, though.

I don't know what brought that on...am I getting sentimental?

Derek was up front, talking to Manny.

My father. The voice I'd never hear again. My mother. The second half of the whole. How their melodies had blended together. Perfect harmony—at least to my ears. And to others. I'd never heard anything like it, nor will I again. Talatha and Hunter Clearwater. Without meaning to, I'd started crying.

"Alice? What is it?" It was Ellie. Against my better judgment, I'd began to like her, "Are you okay?"

"Yah, I'm fine," I wiped a tear.

"Missing Sid?"

"Yes. Even his singing."

Ellie laughed.

"Missing shape-shifting?"

"You have no idea."


	5. I find someone I had lost

Here's chapter four, people! I'd like to thank all the reviewers I got. Thank you! In case you haven't realized, I don't own Ice Age! Alice, Derek, and Leah are mine though. I do not own Momma Dinosaur and her three babies or Rudy, but I do own the names I gave them. I made them up, people.

Chapter 4

To make a long story short, the 'Chasm of Death' incident didn't happen. Ellie and I fixed it. They all didn't end up making fools of themselves.

"They'll never survive. It's dangerous by day!" Said the first skull.

"But it's even worse at night!" Said the second.

"And their guide is a _lunatic!_"

"What?" That was Buck. Back to the skulls.

"What? You mean Buck? Oh, he's wacko!"

"Totally bonkers."

"Hey!" Buck again.

"And his feet smell!" That was courtesy of a third skull, this one on Buck's foot.

"I am not!"

"He's strangling his own foot." Manny looked to me and then back to Buck, "Shouldn't we get moving?"

"What? And give Rudy a midnight snack? Not likely."

"The skull's right. Take a load off, mammals. We'll camp here. Now, who's hungry?"

"I am!" The foot skull cried.

"You don't need the calories!"

That night, after we had listened to Buck's story about how he lost his eye, Ellie was sitting at the fire Derek had built. Buck was with her. The possums, who were on night duty, were snoring peacefully a few feet away.

I joined them.

"Well, well. Nighthawk, Alice?" Ellie asked me.

"Kid's keeping me awake." I muttered.

"Me, too. I won't sleep through the night for a while."

"Oh the joys of bringing a new life into the world. Are you scarred, Ellie?"

"Out of my mind. I grew up with possums. Possum pregnancy is a bit different than mammoths."

"I'll say." There was a slightly uncomfortable pause.

"Can I tell you something, Alice?"

"Lay it on me. I've got all night."

"When I first met you, I hated you. I hated you because I was jealous of you."

"You. Were. Jealous. Of me? Why?"

"You fit in everywhere, Alice. You make people like you. I was just stubborn, and I'm sorry."

"You know what, Ellie? I was stubborn, too. Even after being in this world for only two months, Manny was my brother. I didn't want that to change. I didn't want to share him. And I'll tell you something else. I've never known anyone like him. He was so reserved when I met him. I'd like to think that it was me that made him loosen up, and to some extent, it was. And Sid, too. But when you came along, you finished the job for me. I thought I was loosing one of my brothers."

"I'm—"

"Don't say you're sorry, because it was me. I was being selfish. But I'd never had a brother before. And now I have five. I lost my parents six years ago. They were murdered in front of me."

"Manny told me that," Ellie said.

"You know, I should be pissed at him, but I really don't care."

"So, in short words, are we friends now?" The she-moth asked.

"Friends…yes, I believe we are."

We lapsed into silence.

"Didn't you say you were going to tell me how you broke your tooth?" Buck spoke for the first time.

"Funny story And quite tragic." I told him everything. By the end of it, both Ellie and I were asleep.

In the morning, I woke to the sound of Buck's horn.

"Rise and shine, mammals!" He called.

"Buck, a simple poke of something would have been enough," Ellie muttered.

"Well, this is faster. We have to get moving,"

I wasn't sure how much further the Plates of Woe were. We needed to hit the 'crime scene' first, though.

Derek walked beside Manny. I wasn't sure what they were talking about.

Ellie and I walked together, to the complete surprise of the rest of the herd.

"So, Alice, yah thought of any names for Jr.?" She asked.

"I don't really know. I'm kinda thinking Hunter for a boy."

"And a girl?"

"Kendra or Talatha. Maybe even Dakota or Merla. Meryl. I'm not sure."

"Hunter. That's your dad's name, is it not? And Talatha's your mother?"

I nodded, "So, what about you?"

"For a boy, I'm not really sure. But for a girl I like Peaches, Molly, Holly, Bonnie, or Sarah. Maybe even Sasha."

"I like those."

Buck called a halt, "I smell something!"

Eddie casually sniffed himself. He looked crestfallen.

"It smells like a buzzard's butt fell off, and then got sprayed on by a bunch of skunks."

"That's Sid," Di told him.

"Mammals, we've got ourselves a crime scene! A tuft of fur! Half eaten carcass! A hunk of," I could tell this revolted him, "Broccoli!"

"What've you got against broccoli, Buck?" This query went unanswered.

"Okay, here's what I think happened. Dinosaur attacks Sid. Sid fights back with piece of broccoli. Leaving Dinosaur…a vegetable."

"Are you nuts? Sid's not violent. Or coordinated." Di said. I shared a laugh with Ellie and Derek.

"Yah, and where's the Dinosaur?"

"Okay, theory two. Sid's eating broccoli. Dinosaur eats Sid, Dinosaur steps on broccoli. Leaving broccoli…a vegetable."

"Buck, when exactly did you loose your mind?"

A voice came down from the trees, "About three months ago. He woke up one morning married to a pineapple. An ugly pineapple. That didn't stop him loving her." An unfamiliar saber came down from the trees. She was a blur until she stopped. Her fur was the purest silver, and her eyes the deepest blue. _I had seen those eyes before._

"_Leah?_" I cried. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I couldn't tell if I was happy or sad. She'd been my best friend, but we'd drifted apart when I moved.

"ALICE?" She yelled back, "Oh, I can't believe it's you! I'm so sorry! I never meant to dissolve our friendship! But you know my dad! He's totally religious and thought you were being possessed by the Devil. Don't ask me where that came from, because I don't know. But he made me break off content with you. I tried to write you letters after he did this, but one day he found your responses! Ohmygodareyoupregnant?"

"Say that again, Leah? So we can actually understand you?"

"Are you pregnant, Alice?"

I grinned the best a saber could at my old friend, "Nine months. Kids are coming any day now. Are you a shifter, too, Leah?"

"Yah. How long have you been here, Lissy?"

"Over a year. This is Derek Mitchell, by the way, my mate, and the kid's father. The bull mammoth is Manny, the cow **(Not that kind of cow!)** is Ellie. The possum twins are Crash and Eddie, and the Saber is Diego. I trust you know where we are?"

"Of course! Who wouldn't know the Ice Age world?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Three months. I showed up the day Buck woke up married to the pineapple. Alice, you're sixteen years old, you know that, right?"

"And you think I'm not ready to give birth. Leah, I've gone through many things since we stopped being friends. I know I'm ready."

"Ya know, Alice, I never doubted you. I'm so, so sorry."

"Sisters fight, Leah," I said, "Sometimes they stop talking altogether for extended periods of time. I'm just happy I got you back."

"Ditto" We laughed. She marched over to Derek, "Now, you take care of my sister. 'Cause, if yah don't, you'll have me to deal with."

"I was planning on doing that, anyway, Leah."

"You know?" The silver saber told us, her eyes flashing, "I always wondered when you two were getting together."

"Even when we were small?" I asked. I paused to take in the sister that I had just been reunited with. She was the same size as me, smaller than Diego. She was thin, so thin her rib cage showed through the silvery-white skin. It was stretched tight over deteriorating muscles. Even through that, it still managed to shine. So did her eyes.

"Yes, even then."

"Leah, since when did you become afraid of food?"

"Look around, Alice. There's hardly anything down here but Dinosaur. And they're too big for me. I've been living off of any carrion I can scavenge."

"Well, you're coming with us, then. After we find Sid."

"Sid. Floppy green thing? Disgusting looking—and smelling—Sloth?"

"Yah. You've seen him?"

"Yah. Aspen came along with him and Bethany, James, and Travis. The albino Baryonyx, I think his name is Dragon, but Buck calls him Rudy, he came along after them. He totally destroyed the plates of woe."

"Leah, who in the world is Aspen?"

"Oh, I forgot. You know her as Momma T-rex. I'm actually on good terms with her. Haven't talked in a while, though, because her eggs were about to hatch."

"What I'm wondering," Diego said, speaking for the first time, "Is how you can even _talk_ to her."

"Oh, it's easy. She's a shifter, too. She's been in this world for longer than any of us. About ten years, I think. She was fifteen when she came here."

"Momma Dinosaur is a _shifter_?"

"Yah. I found out about a few weeks ago. And don't let her catch you calling her Momma Dinosaur. Her name is Aspen. Come on, you must have discovered your Dinosaur by now."

"I have." We heard someone scream, "Sid!" I cried.

"There you have it, mammals! The plates of woe." Leah and Buck called, "Or, whatever's left of them."


	6. And All hell breaks loose

Okay, this one's a bit longer. Thank you so much for your reviews! DiegoRedeemedLover, thanks for the consistency!

I only own my OC's!

Chapter 5

The plates of woe were an absolute _mess._ I can't even say how many times I ended up on my face.

We didn't make it across before plates started sliding.

The first to fall were Leah and Diego. They'd been walking together. Derek and I were behind them, and we tumbled after them. I was up in an instant.

"Diego! Leah! Are you two alright?" I yelled.

The reply was faint, "I'm good, Alice, but Diego got knocked out! I don't know if he's okay!"

"Hold on, Leah, Derek and I'll be down in a few minutes."

Then all hell broke loose.

"Pineapples! Grapefruit! Pomegranate!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHEEEEE!!!!!"

"She gets cravings" Manny shrugged.

"Never heard that kind of Dino before."

"That's Sid!"

"PEACHES!" Ellie cried.

"The baby's coming! Did you hear that? 'Cause sometimes I just…"

"Can you try to hold it in!?"

"Can someone slap him for me?"

SLAP!

"Done and done."

"Oh, no, no! This is worse than I remember!" I muttered, "Ah, great! Derek, we've got a big problem!"

"What is it, Alice?"

"AH, THE BABY'S COMING!"

"Not good. Okay, Alice, calm down."

"Der, how in the world can I calm down! Di's unconscious, Ellie's giving birth, Sid's in danger and going to go over Lava Falls, _I'm_ giving birth, and on top of all that, those chicken-headed freaks are going after Ellie!"

"Diego's okay!" Came Leah's voice, "We're coming up! Hold on!"

"No, Leah! You and Diego, go help Ellie! She needs it more than I do! Go help Manny!" I yelled. I jumped to a stable plate, "Derek, go help them."

"What, no, Alice—"

"Just go, Derek, I'll be fine!"

With one last look at me, he licked my cheek and then raced off.

It was like nothing I've ever known. The pain, I can't even describe it. I had no idea it would be like this. When I'd asked Mother before she died, she'd said it wasn't that bad after the doctors had given her painkillers.

I had no painkillers.

I suddenly knew that I wasn't going to survive this.

I wouldn't die from the pain. I could feel my daughter—somehow I knew she was my daughter—hurting me. My body might not survive.

I waited for death to take me, willing my friends to take care of my babies. I pushed. It was the natural thing to do. It was the only thing I could do. I had to get them out of me, or they would die with me.

A contraction hit me. The babies were ready, but I wasn't. I panicked. I wasn't going to survive this—no, I can't think like that. I need to survive this. My herd needed me. I needed to live. For the first time in my life, I prayed to God that I might live to love my daughter and son the way they deserved to be loved.

And Derek. I would survive this for them. The beast wouldn't take my life.

I was in a massive shadow. I had to stay alive.

For my herd.

For my babies.

For my brother.

For my mate.

For my friends.

For my sisters.

A fiery passion filled me, and I felt no more pain.

My daughter came first. She was a small thing, like a mini me. Her fur was deep midnight blue like mine and Derek's. She was in saber form, but before my eyes she changed to human, mammoth, possum, and back to saber. She was a shifter. I had the perfect name for her. She opened her violet eyes and looked at me. I smiled at her.

We waited a few minutes. My girl would forever tease her brother that she was a few minutes older.

Another contraction came. This time, my son came with it. He was the same colour as his sister, but with green eyes. He looked at me with wide eyes. I set about cleaning him like I had his sister.

I had a name for him, too. If Derek would come before I went into the light, I could tell him…he had to come…for our twins…Sid…what was happening? I couldn't tell…my children curled up at my side in sleep…I could join them…but then I'd never see them again.

I fought against the blackness, but I couldn't win. It was like a mouse trying to hold back the sea.

I couldn't hold on. Everything went black.

When I awoke, everything was white.

"Hunter, she's awake. Alesandra, can you hear me?"

Alesandra? Who was that? Where am I? Who am I?

"Alice, wake up, daughter." This was a male's voice. The other's was female.

Alesandra. Alice. Of course! I was Alice.

I opened my eyes, and looked at two angels, "Mother? Father?"

"Yes, sweetie." My mother said.

Tears began to leak from my eyes, "Am I dead?"

"For now."

"Oh my god! What about my herd? What about my mate? What about my children?" I cried, "What do you mean, for now?"

"You have a choice, daughter," Talatha Clearwater said.

"You can go back to them—"

"—Or you could stay here, with us. We'd be a family forever. You'd have no more pain. You would forget about Derek, and your children. To them, it would be like you died."

"I can't let my children grow up without their mother. It was so hard, growing up without you."

"We know, Hummingbird,"

I hadn't been called that in so long, "Then you know I can't stay here. I'll be back one day, but it's not my time yet. You didn't choose to come here, and now you can't come back. But I can choose. I choose raising my children, growing old with my mate. That's the life you always wanted for me, right?"

"Of course, Hummingbird. Close your eyes. When you awaken, you'll be with your family. We'll always be with you. In here."

Father placed his hand on my heart. I hugged both of them, and this time, I knew it wouldn't be the last, "I will see you again." I promised, "Bye, Mom, Dad."

"Bye, Hummingbird."

I heard them singing to me as I fell asleep. A familiar lullaby, that I'd sing my children to sleep with.

Something was nudging me. And nudging me. It hurt, but it was a good type of pain. Satisfaction. I finally knew where the saying, 'no pain, no gain' came from. I'd been successful. I, against the odds, had survived.

A low whine sounded. I knew instinctively what it was. My babies were hungry. I rolled to my side to expose my nipples and opened my eyes.

Derek's human face smiled down at me. Leah stood, in saber form, shoulder to shoulder with Diego. I could sense something there. Crash and Eddie had fallen off my back when I rolled. Buck looked on with a tender look on his face. Manny stood behind Diego and Leah. He was ginning his face off. Sid had rejoined us. He was talking to me, but I wasn't listening. I was looking at Ellie, or more specifically, the baby in her trunk.

"Oh, Ellie, she's _beautiful._"

"You didn't do so bad yourself." She laughed.

"Thanks. What's her name?"

Ellie smiled, "Peaches."

"Wonderful"

"Alice" I looked to Derek. My children had stopped suckling, "Are they going to have names? We can't go along calling them 'the kids' forever. Any ideas?"

"Yes, actually," I rolled to my stomach as I watched them pounce on each other, "Aryl Leah Dakota Talatha for the girl. Hunter Diego Sidney Manfred for the boy."

Derek grinned, "I like those. Aryl and Hunter. They sound good together."

_I hear the wind call my name _

_The sound that leads me home_

_It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns _

_To you I'll always return _

_I know the road is long but where you are is home_

_Wherever you stay - I'll find a way_

_I'll run like a river - I'll follow the sun_

_I'll fly like an eagle - to where I belong_

_I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone _

_I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home _

_Now I know it's true _

_My every road leads to you _

_And in the hour of darkness darlin' _

_Your light gets me through _

_You run like a river - you shine like the sun_

_You fly like an eagle_

_You are the one _

_I've seen every sunset_

_And with all that I've learned_

_Oh it's to you - I will always _

_always _

_return_

I shifted to human for the first time in months. How appropriate that song was! I'd always return to Derek, and my herd, but now that commitment had extended to my Aryl and my Hunter, too.

"I'm so glad you woke up, Alice. I thought I'd never see you again!" Leah cried.

"Yah, you scared us half to death!"

"I didn't expect to wake up."

"You've been out for almost five hours. Everyone here was so worried!"

"I am truly sorry to worry you guys." Aryl and Hunter were up with Peaches, "Welcome back to the family, Sid. You'll be Godfather? Diego, you and Manny too? And Buck?"

There was a chorus of 'yeps' and 'yeses.'

"And Ellie, Leah, you two will be Godmothers?"

More 'yeses.'

"Alright, mammals. Let's get you home." Buck said. He tossed his knife in the air and caught the handle in his palm.


	7. 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15 How many more?

**Well, people, I'm sorry about the lack of updates. I'm trying but I've got a lot of things to do. I own my OC's and any plot twists. I do not own the original storyline or characters. I do not own the songs!**

**Thanks again to anyone who reviewed, I really enjoyed getting them! It's always nice to know what others think of your work.**

**Now, this one's a bit shorter, but I think it's suitable.**

**For reference, I made up myraneth accolte. It means 'daughter of the Earth' or 'girl who runs with wolves' **

Chapter 6

I walked in the middle of our group, grasping Aryl by the scruff of her neck. Derek was beside me, carrying Hunter in the same way.

Leah and Diego talked animatedly in front of us. The two of them completely ignored the rest of us, but none of us ignored them.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, Tiger!" Leah cried. Di had just nipped her tail.

"Oh, yah? And whose going to make me?" He told her playfully.

She pounced on him. We let it go on for a few minutes.

"I've never seen him like this," Manny whispered to me, "It's almost…childlike."

"Yes, Leah brings out the child in us all. Bet she could even get to you, Manny." My voice was slightly muffled.

"Me? No way. Not in ten thousand years!"

"Well, she's got a head start, because she won't be born for another ten thousand years!"

The entire herd burst out laughing, except for Sid. He was a bit slow on the uptake (obviously). Apparently, his meeting with Aspen hadn't helped in that department, not that I thought it would.

Sid came to my shoulder, "Can I babysit for you?"

"Not a chance." Derek told him in a highly amused tone.

"Why not? I did so well with Eggbert, Shelly, ad Yoko!"

"You mean James, Bethany, and Travis?"

"Who're they?"

"Oh, I forgot you didn't know. Momma T-rex is actually called Aspen. She's a shifter, too, like me and Der, Aryl, Hunter, and Leah."

"Alright, mammals, here we are. Right back where you started. That was fun. We should make it a regular thing!"

"Um…" Ellie trailed off.

"Oh, yah, with all the mortal peril and all…"

"Glad to see you're not completely insane, Buck."

"Well, mammals, the Buck stops here." A low grow ruffled his fur, "We're not alone." He hissed.

We all looked on in horror.

"Hello, Rudy." Buck hissed.

We ran.

Rudy chased us.

We herded Ellie into a cave.

"Stay with the baby!"

"Ellie, can you watch the twins?"

"We'll be fine. Go!"

"Derek! Leah! Walk the Dinosaur!"

"_What?_"

"The song!"

_Open the door, get on the floor_

_Everybody walk the dinosaur_

For the first time, I was bigger than Derek.

"Over here, you colossal fossil! Looking for something?" Buck was just asking for trouble. And death. Lots and lots of death!

I roared, and along with Leah and Derek, started towards Rudy (Dragon).

Aspen joined us. Faced with four tyrant-lizard kings, Rudy backed down.

_Hey! That weasel stole my tooth! I want it back!_

I stepped back, and Leah and Derek did the same.

Another voice started talking. _It's called telepathy. We can do it with animals that can't talk._

_ Aspen?_

_ Who else, myraneth accolte?_

_ He already stole my tooth, why won't he just leave me alone? Will he not rest until I'm dead?_

_ Rudy?_

_ My name's not Rudy! Only that weasel calls me that. I'm Dragon! Who're you?_

_ Alice._

_ Can you tell the weasel to leave me alone. I can't die—not now. My mate's with child._

_ I'll tell him, Dragon. Don't worry about that. He'll come with us and he won't bother you again._

_ Thank you, Alice Let the weasel keep the tooth. I don't need it._

Dragon lumbered away. I shrunk to human and grabbed Buck before he could go after him.

"Frankly, he's a bit annoyed at you, Buck, what with you constantly trying to kill him. His mate's pregnant, and he wants you to leave him alone. Will you do that?"

"But that's been my whole purpose in life!"

"You can have a new one. Come with us. If you don't agree, I'm dragging you out by the ear."

"You win, Alice." Buck sighed in defeat.

"I usually do."

Around me, three other Dinos shrunk to human. Leah and Derek came to my side, and the other girl collapsed.

Aspen laughed as she struggled to her feet, "I guess I've been a T-rex for too long." I grabbed the older woman and put her arm around my shoulder. Bethany, James, and Travis came up to her, "Hello, babies." Aspen smiled.

"Do you want to come up with us, Aspen?" Leah asked.

"You know what, I believe I do. It's gotten lonely down here."

"Come, meet the herd. You've already met Sid. He's the sloth," I said, "Manny and Ellie are the mammoths, and their daughter, Peaches. My brother, Diego, and you know my sister, Leah. You know Buck already, and that's my mate, Derek, and our son and daughter, Hunter and Aryl. Oh, wow, there's fifteen of us now! To think we just started out with four!"

"Who were the originals?" Aspen asked.

"Manny and Sid, and then Diego joined them the same day. I joined them about twenty-four hours later."

"Alright, let's go!"


	8. Epilogue 3 More Members

Chapter 7

Epilogue

_One year later…_

"Push, Leah!"

"I'm trying Aspen, you try this!"

"Hate to break it to yah, girl, but we already have."

"Come on, Auntie, I want a cousin!"

"And you'll get one, Aryl, you just have to wa—AAAHHH!"

"I just have to waAAAAHHH?"

"Aryl, don't be stupid."

"Look who's talking, Peaches."

"ARYL! Apologize!"

"Ah, come on mom, she knows I don't mean it. Sorry anyway, Peach."

"That's okay, Airy."

"Cone on!"

"I'm trying, Bethany!"

"Almost there, Leah! Just one more push!"

"Are you done yet?"

"Hunter! Sid! OUT!"

Ten minutes later it was over. Leah had produced two healthy daughters one son. She named the boy Jasper, and the girls Allyson and Sarah.

"You guys can come in now!" I called to the herd, "Diego, come, meet your kids!"

**And that's it for Myraneth Accolte: Dawn of the Alicesaurs! And yes, Diego has a mate! Reviews are appreciated! There are so many OC's!**

**For reference, the herd is now, in order of them joining:**

**Manny**

**Sid**

**Diego**

**Alesandra (Alice) Anastasia Kendra Dakota Clearwater**

**Crash**

**Eddie**

**Ellie**

**Leah**

**Peaches**

**Aryl Leah Dakota Talatha**

**Hunter Diego Sidney Manfred**

**Buck**

**Aspen**

**James**

**Travis**

**Bethany**

**Jasper**

**Allyson**

**Sarah**


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